PAKISTAN / INDIA

PAKISTAN and Iran could soon become major strategic allies after representatives from both countries met and agreed a trade deal, it has been reported.

Dr Kamal Kharrazi, Iran’s Head of the Strategic Council of Foreign Relations and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, has said the two counties have close religious and cultural bonds and should continue to work together.

Talk of improvement in diplomatic ties between the neighbours as well as potential economic deals means the pair could become important strategic allies in the future.

Dr Kharrazi said: “A free trade agreement is under negotiation, and if successful, there will come a big change.”

Both countries are currently involved in vicious conflicts and may act to support one another going forwards the politician implied.

Webmaster's Commentary:

Forgive me, but in what "vicious conflict" is Iran involved, other than trying to assist Syria's Al-Assad in taking his country back from Western-backed rebels, attempting to overthrow him?!?

The US government has never had more than a "frenemy" relationship with whatever Pakistani government was in power; however, this year has probably been the worst year in US Pakistani relations for a long time, and for the following reasons:

In Pakistan, you have a number of competing objectives by various factions inside, and outside, of the government, coupled with a great deal of corruption and violence.

Hopefully, this blooming trade relationship between Iran and Pakistan may spill over into other areas of civilian and military leadership there; Iran's presence may become a stabilizing influence, and, perhaps, may open the door for more moderate governance in Islamabad with less corruption.

But the US, Saudi, and Israeli governments, no matter how good this may turn out to be for both countries, are, again, going to accuse Iran of being the "baddie" here, and trying to "unduly influence" Pakistan where the West has utterly failed to do so.

PAKISTAN and Iran could soon become major strategic allies after representatives from both countries met and agreed a trade deal, it has been reported.

Dr Kamal Kharrazi, Iran’s Head of the Strategic Council of Foreign Relations and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, has said the two counties have close religious and cultural bonds and should continue to work together.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences recently announced the sale of ballistic missile tracking technology to Pakistan.

The equipment is touted as a sophisticated optical monitoring system capable of collecting useful data and glean better insight into ballistic missile tests. The South China Morning Post reported last week that the equipment would accelerate Islamabad's development of multi-warhead ballistic missiles.

Particularly, the equipment includes cameras capable of tracking multiple warheads simultaneously, the Diplomat notes, which could be especially helpful for Pakistan's first MIRV-capable missile. Multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) capability was recently tested on China's DF-41 missile, which can carry up to ten warheads.

India is ready to take on any unforeseen situation in Doklam, said Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday. The statement comes days after Chinese President Xi Jinping said they are prepared to fight a bloody battle against its enemies.

On Saturday Indian envoy Gautam Bambawale claimed that any attempt by China to change the status quo along the Indian border may lead to another Doklam-like stand-off between the two nations.

The way the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is progressing is certainly going to end up hurting Pakistan. This is not something we are saying, but the opinion of Pakistan's Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Pakistan media reports have said. The FBR believes CPEC could well end up destroying Pakistani industry, and take away any incentive for Chinese companies to manufacture in Pakistan.

In welcome news for Lockheed Martin and its shareholders, a high-ranking US military official has said the US armed forces support selling the F-35 aircraft to India, a country that has not yet agreed to pay for the expensive jets.

While the extent of New Delhi's interest in acquiring Lockheed Martin's stealthy aircraft is not yet clear, the head of US Pacific Command (US PACOM) nonetheless supports the sale in theory, which is one of the more important preliminary steps for a deal actually happening.

"At the moment, India is considering a number of US systems for purchase, all of which US PACOM fully supports." The systems include F-16s, F/A-18s and MH-60 Seahawks, "and [the] F-35 Joint Strike Fighter," Admiral Harry Harris told the US House Armed Services Committee last month.

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has fielded a squadron of new Pakistan Aeronautical Complex JF-17 “Thunder” combat aircraft, according to a recent report by the Associated Press of Pakistan. The multi-role fighter jets are stationed at Pakistan’s Samungli Base near Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan.

The world is watching the conflict in the Kashmir region of the India/Pakistan border with bated breath. Not receiving much attention in the mainstream media, is the war breaking out right now on the other side of the globe.

Just last week, Pakistan declared it was “worried” about India’s drone technology, and now the Pakistani military has declared they’ve shot down an Indian drone.

According to The Express UK, the Islamabad military issued a statement yesterday declaring that the craft had been shot down after violating Pakistan airspace. “Pakistan Army troops shot down an Indian spy drone while it violated LoC in Chirikot Sector. The drone has been taken over by Pakistan Army troops. This is 4th drone which has been shot down by Pakistan Army troops in last one year,” the statement read.

PAKISTAN shot down an Indian “spy drone” in the Kashmir region along the contested border known as the Line of Control (LoC) that has been a critical source of tensions between the two South Asian nations, it has emerged.

On January 1, 2018, The Daily Caller published information - later confirmed in two separate reports, here and here - about a plan for a Chinese military base on the Jiwani peninsula in Pakistan, near Gwadar, a sea port critical to the success of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Relations between the US and Pakistan continue to fray over whether or not Pakistan is too soft on Islamic terrorist groups operating within their borders – while Pakistan’s “all weather friend” China continues to praise and defend their ally.

As the world quietly goes about their business, Pakistan has vowed to get revenge on India after an attack. The tensions between the two nations are quickly spiraling out of control leading many to wonder if World War 3 will break out in the area soon.

According to the Express UK, the devastating attack from India along the contested border known as the Line of Control (LoC) as tensions between the two South Asian nations flare, a retired soldier has claimed. The LoC splits the region of Kashmir, with Pakistan owning one side and India, the other. The region of Kashmir has been contested by both countries for decades causing high levels of tensions between the neighboring states.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani met with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi last week and the two signed a multitude of agreements.

The most important of which is India’s leasing of part of the Iranian port of Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman. This deal further strengthens India’s ability to access central Asian markets while bypassing the Pakistani port at Gwadar, now under renovation by China as part of CPEC – China Pakistan Economic Corridor.

The People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has boosted their high altitude capacities along their southwestern borders, sending more top-of-the-line jet fighters to parts of China that border rival state India.

Early in February, PLAAF published photos of Chengdu J-10 Vigorous Dragon multirole fighters and Shenyang J-11 (a modification of the famous Soviet Sukhoi Su-27) air superiority fighters participating in combat training exercises in western China.

INDIA is preparing to build a huge military base off the coast of Africa in an attempt to counter China’s growing influence over the Indian Ocean.

The new facility in Seychelles, north of Madagascar, will include an airbase as well as naval installations.

The structure will be located at a key strategic chokepoint between major global shipping lanes, which are used to transport nearly half of the world’s oil supply every day.

Tensions are already running high between Beijing and New Delhi as the two nations wrestle for more influence over the Maldives.

The rivalry has escalated after Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen signed up to China’s Belt and Road initiative which will see the Asian superpower plough billions of dollars into new trade infrastructure.

India's local media reported that the move taken by the Indian government can boom economic ties between the two countries outstandingly, because, Iran will attract more investment from India in this respect.

They reiterated that the Indian government has issued direct investment’s license with rupee in Iran.

INDIA has issued a “high alert” after an army base in the Jammu region was stormed by armed militants that killed at least five soldiers and a civilian during a period of high tensions between the two nations, it has emerged.

Though heavily sedated, there is a smile on Shazda’s face.
The young wife of Sipahi Nazir of the Jammu & Kahmir Light Infantry (JAKLI) dodged certain death when terrorists shot her on the back during the Sunjwan military camp attack.

MIRANSHAH: Once a hotbed of terrorism and a centre of poppy cultivation, North Waziristan Agency (NWA) is set to transform into a hub of regional and trans-regional trade as Ghulam Khan border crossing is about to be inaugurated next month.

It merits mention here that Pakistan has constructed a three-lane highway as a new trade road with Afghanistan and the Ghulam Khan crossing would be third major trade route linking Afghanistan’s Khost with Miranshah.

Miranshah is strategically located to provide a shortest link between Russia, central Asian states and warm waters of Arabian Sea through Gwadar Port. Moscow is only 4,798 kilometers from Miranshah while Dushanbe is 860 kilometers, Tashkent is 1414 kilometers and Ashqabad is 1753 kilometers, Kabul is 277 kilometers while Khost is mere 47 kilometers away from Miranshah.

Ghulam Khan trade route has the capability to become a major trade link with central Asia and Russia via Afghanistan>>>

LUCKNOW, India – A fake doctor treating poor villagers in northern India for colds, coughs and diarrhea has infected at least 21 of them with HIV by using contaminated syringes and needles, a health official said Tuesday.

The country's 69th Republic Day celebrations on Friday generated a record number of tweets at over 1.1 million this year, a Silicon Valley-based social media company said Saturday.

"The celebrations garnered over 1.1 million tweets, setting a new conversation record for #RepublicDay, that trended no 1 worldwide throughout the day, compared to over 900,000 tweets celebrating the occasion in 2017," a spokesperson said in a statement on Twitter.

In an op-ed published in as many as 27 newspapers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday described the visit of the ASEAN Head of States to India on the occasion of the country's 69th Republic Day as a "historic milestone".
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In the op-ed, which was published in 10 languages, PM Modi said that the decision to invite the ASEAN leaders to be the chief guests of the 69th Republic Day also marks an important turning point in the country's time-tested and age-old relationship with the 10-member bloc.

India will celebrate her 69th Republic Day today and people began gathering from early Friday morning to witness the parade at Rajpath. With passionate patriotism written on their faces and palpable excitement in the air, Indians cutting across all ages braved the cold to walk through layers of security cover.

China on Thursday cautiously welcomed India hosting leaders of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) on its Republic Day, which many see as a move by New Delhi to counter Beijing`s influence in the region.

Beijing said it was "okay" with New Delhi developing friendly and cooperative ties with the 10-member bloc. It said a section of the Indian media was obsessed with China.

Along the 786 km-long Line of Control (LoC) which divides the State of Jammu Kashmir between India and Pakistan, sporadic cross-border military gunfire between both countries is not that unusual.

However, this weekend, in the region of Noushera, Rajouri and Akhnoor sectors of Jammu and Kashmir, more than 40,000 Indians have fled their homes and shops amid the fourth consecutive day of intense shelling from Pakistani military forces, the Economic Times reports.

If the Pakistan-Afghanistan border had been mined and fenced on both sides, as proposed by Pakistan, and patrolled aggressively by the armies of both countries, nobody could claim that illegal crossings would have been easy. If the Afghan army had been ordered to cooperate with their opposite numbers across the border, and if there had been coordinated surveillance and aggressive foot patrols – as wanted by the Pakistan military – then it would have been very difficult indeed for insurgents to cross in either direction. The US did not approve Pakistan’s proposal for fencing and minefields and did not supply any assistance for the project. So the barrier was not erected.

Webmaster's Commentary:

The only thing this set of bone-headed moves are going to do, regarding Pakistan, is to thrown it more deeply into the orbit of China and Russia.

The only characterisations of US foreign policy one can state with a straight face, right now are, "incoherent and fractured."

With Yoga on the platter, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to represent India in an event of the World Economic Forum that is set to commence in Davos on Monday. The event will have yoga sessions twice a day - every morning and evening.

"For the first time, #Yoga will be performed on the platform of World Economic Forum. Two of our Aacharyas will be leaving for Davos today and will be taking two sessions, one each in the morning & evening," Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev said.

The new photos reveal that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) compound is about six miles east of where the Indian forces camped during the standoff. The construction includes trenches, barracks and multiple helipads. What appear to be artillery gun emplacements have also been dug, but are presently unoccupied by any heavy weaponry.

Furthermore, Chinese troops and armored vehicles have built up in the area, including a full mechanized regiment of what appear to be ZBL-09 infantry fighting vehicles — which can be equipped with howitzers and anti-aircraft suites.

The nuclear-capable Agni-V is believe to be India's most advanced ICBM. It was fired Thursday morning India time from Abdul Kalam island off the coast of the eastern state of Odisha, the ministry said in a tweet.

It called the test a "major boost" to the country's defense capabilities.

Webmaster's Commentary:

We have to hope that this war of words will not escalate into a shooting war between India and Pakistan.

In his statement, as reported in the Hindustan Times, Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said Friday his military was ready to call Pakistan’s “nuclear bluff” and carry out aggressive military operations across the border.

"We will call the (nuclear) bluff of Pakistan. If we will have to really confront the Pakistanis, and a task is given to us, we are not going to say we cannot cross the border because they have nuclear weapons. We will have to call their nuclear bluff," Gen. Rawat warned, responding to a question during a press conference on the “possibility of Pakistan using its nuclear weapons in case the situation along the border deteriorates,” said the Hindustan Times.'

The Indian Defense Ministry has authorized major arms deals with Israel and Russia, as the country steps up efforts to modernize its military amid territorial disputes with neighbors China and Pakistan.

Under the first deal that the ministry announced on Tuesday, the Indian Navy would receive up to 131 Barak surface-to-air missiles worth $72 million, AFP reported.

The missiles are probably of the Barak 8 type that Israeli weapons manufacturer Rafael has jointly developed with its Indian partners and would be used to replace India's aging Barak 1 air defense systems.

Hawaii’s ballistic missile attack on Saturday turned out to be nothing more than fat-fingered "fake news" by State officials. However, a far more significant threat of nuclear war is growing on the border between India and Pakistan, called the Line of Control (LoC), which continues to be generally ignored by Western media outlets.

Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said Friday his military was ready to call Pakistan’s “nuclear bluff” and carry out aggressive military operations across the border.

"We will call the (nuclear) bluff of Pakistan. If we will have to really confront the Pakistanis, and a task is given to us, we are not going to say we cannot cross the border because they have nuclear weapons. We will have to call their nuclear bluff," Gen. Rawat warned, responding to a question during a press conference on the “possibility of Pakistan using its nuclear weapons in case the situation along the border deteriorates,” said the Hindustan Times.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday broke protocol to personally receive his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu at the airport as he arrived in the national capital to begin a six-day visit.

He welcomed Netanyahu with a hug upon his arrival. The Israeli PM is accompanied by his wife Sara.

In recent months the US President has reversed yet another campaign pledge to pull out of Afghanistan, America’s longest war, and instead has begun to deploy an added 3,000 troops there. At the same time he has lashed out at the government of Pakistan accusing it of aiding the Afghan Taliban and pledging to cut all US military aid to that country as reprisal. A deeper view into the situation suggests that both moves are linked and have to do with not the Taliban and the Afghan terrorists. It has very much to do with ongoing developments of peaceful construction of the Chinese-led Belt, Road Initiative and desperate attempts of Washington to try to stop those developments using other pretexts.

Pakistan is fuming over the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl, who was found dumped in trash after repeated sexual assault. And making a strong statement in this regard was a Pakistani news anchor, who went on air with her small daughter to mark her protest.

In the wake of President Trump’s twitter outburst last week, alleging that Pakistan has given the U.S. “nothing but lies and deceit” accompanied by the suspension of US financial aid, Defense Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan declared that military and intelligence cooperation with the United States are suspended, during an address at the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad on Tuesday.

Under president Trump's administration, the United States of America appears to be taking all the antagonistic steps against both Iran and Pakistan to make the Wakeup call of 2007 even more pertinent as the world enters 2018. Unfortunately, neither nation can still make an effective self-defense (despite all their bravado that is more reminiscent of Sadaam Hussein before the first Tomahawk cruise missiles hit the ancient land of Mesopotamia). The establishment leaders, intellectuals, politicians and opinion-makers in both nations, alongside the rest of the world, still continue to “United We Stand” with the base fiction of “War on Terror” of the United States. Neither has the courage to publicly recognize and call this fiction for what it is, albeit, most wise people in both nations well understand the calculus of hegemony and primacy which underwrites it.

America’s foreign policy increasingly looks like the final scene from Scarface. After North Korea, Russia, China, Venezuela, Myanmar, Syria, Hezbollah, Palestine and Iran, the latest country to be in the crosshairs of globalists is Pakistan. However, as usual, there’s more to the story than the propaganda. The real, unspoken reason behind the drama is America’s anti-China strategy, but let’s analyze the big picture...

Pakistan’s announcement that it will seek the expulsion of over 1,5 million Afghan refugees in the next 30 days is being tacitly justified by Trump’s tweet and channels his zero-tolerance stance towards immigration from “terrorist”-prone states, but it also represents the employment of reverse-“Weapons of Mass Migration” in pushing Kabul closer towards the edge of collapse and consequently filling the Taliban’s rank of supporters.

America’s declining influence in the Middle East and the Pacific Rim has been in hyperdrive this week following President Trump’s tweetstorm against Pakistan.

On New Year's day, Trump unleashed a series of tweets accusing Pakistan of harboring terrorists, and went so far as to threaten cutting off the country’s financial aid. To make matters worse, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, also accused Pakistan of playing “a double game for years,” and said President Trump would withhold $225 million in aid to the country.

Trump’s tweetstorm did not impress the Pakistani government: in response, it announced that it would be evicting some 1.4 million Afghan refugees from the country later this month. The Pakistani government also announced closer ties with China, and would ditch the dollar in bilateral trade with China, a move that has threatened Washington’s diplomatic relations with Pakistan.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday attributed India's fast-growing 'reputation' and 'dominance' across the world to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The increasing dominance and reputation of India in the world is because of the personality of Prime Minister Modi. In whichever country he goes, he makes strong individual friendship in addition to establishing good relations between two countries,” said Swaraj at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-India Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Singapore.

***
According to the State Department, the US made the funding decision over concerns that Islamabad is providing a safe haven for the al-Qaeda and Taliban-allied Haqqani terrorist network, a former CIA-funded anti-Soviet guerrilla group which has engaged in plotting attacks on US troops in neighboring Afghanistan in recent years.
With that in mind, Yusufzai said that the aid cuts do not mean a complete US break with the South Asian country. "I don't think they will fully cut off the assistance, because they still want to work with Pakistan. They need Pakistan. Supply lines to Afghanistan pass through Pakistan. There are 20,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan. They need all kinds of supplies, and they use the Pakistani land route, and also the air route [to deliver them]."

On Wednesday, the Pakistani government ordered 1.4 million Afghan refugees to leave the country in 30 days. According to DAWN, the oldest English-language newspaper in Pakistan, this is the sixth extension given to refugees, which the last expired on December 31.

As the presence of Chinese soldiers on Pakistani soil continues to grow, Islamabad is taking Beijing's help to rapidly ramp up its military infrastructure along its border with India along Rajasthan. Infrastructure works done for the Pakistani Army by the Chinese include the upgrade of a forward airbase, more than 350 stone bunkers, border outposts and road network.

The US is keeping "all options" on the table apart from suspending about USD 2 billion in security aid to Pakistan to put pressure on it to take decisive action against the Taliban and the Haqqani network and eliminate their safe havens, the White House warned on Saturday.
The US yesterday suspended about USD 2 billion in security aid to Pakistan over its failure to crack down on militants.

After Djibouti, China is planning to build its second foreign naval base in Pakistan, according to a South China Morning Post report.
The base is most likely to come up near Gwadar, according to Beijing-based military analyst Zhou Chenming.

Pakistani companies have been given a green light to use the Chinese yuan in trade with Beijing, which could potentially sideline the US dollar and other currencies used there. The move coincides with a US-Pakistan aid row.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said it “has taken comprehensive policy-related measures to ensure that imports, exports and financing transactions can be denominated in CNY,” according to a statement issued late on Tuesday. CNY is now effectively on par with the US dollar, euro and other international currencies in the country.

Pakistan is ready to face any U.S. action in the wake of President Donald Trump’s tweet on New Year’s Day threatening the country, the defense minister and the army spokesman said.

Defense Minister Khurram Dastagir said Thursday there should be “no doubt or fear as the defense of Pakistan is in competent and strong hands.” Earlier, army spokesman Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor said Pakistan’s response will be in line with the wishes of the Pakistani people.

Trump has accused Islamabad of providing a safe haven for terrorists. On Monday, he tweeted that the United States had “foolishly” given Pakistan more than $33 billion in aid in the last 15 years and had gotten nothing in return but “lies & deceit.”

Reacting to another suspect video released by Pakistan of Indian death row prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav, India slammed Islamabad said on Wednesday saying that 'propagandistic exercises simply carry no credibility.'
"This does not come as a surprise. Pakistan is simply continuing its practice of putting out coerced statements on video. It is time for them to realize that such propagandistic exercises simply carry no credibility," the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday said history taught them not to "blindly" trust the US in response to statements from top US officials, including President Donald Trump, accusing Islamabad of providing safe haven to militants fighting in war-torn Afghanistan.

China's new "hypersonic" ballistic missiles will not only challenge the defences of the US but also be able to more accurately hit military targets in Japan and India, a media report said on Tuesday.
The report in the South China Morning Post comes after Tokyo-based The Diplomat magazine reported that China's rocket forces conducted two tests late last year of a new hypersonic glide vehicle or HGV, known as the DF-17

The Trump administration is about to deny Pakistan $255 million worth of military aid after the terrorist-harboring nation "did not take substantial action against the Afghan Taliban or [the Haqqani Network], or substantially limit their ability to threaten U.S. interests in Afghanistan," according to an annual State Department report on terrorism.

Islamabad called an emergency cabinet meeting to establish the “difference between facts and fiction,” and summoned the US ambassador after Trump targeted Pakistan in his first tweet in 2018, accusing it of "lies and deceit."

The Pakistani government, led by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, is set to convene the emergency meeting shortly after US President Donald Trump said in a tweet that Pakistan had provided “nothing but lies and deceit” in return for vast amount of financial aid from Washington over the past 15 years.

The Pakistan Foreign Office summoned US Ambassador to Pakistan David Hale on Monday night and lodged its protest against US President Donald Trump`s tweet wherein he accused Pakistan of "lies and deceit", the media reported.
The US Embassy confirmed that Ambassador Hale was summoned by the Foreign Office at 9 p.m., The Express Tribune reported citing Express News.

US may withhold $255 million Pakistan aid over handling of terror groups
The Trump administration may withhold $225 million in government aid to Pakistan over frustration with the country's handling of terror groups within its borders

India is looking forward to exploring some of Israel’s offshore gas fields soon. Analysts suggested that by including oil in its relationship with Israel, India is giving a strong message to Iran that has held up the allocation of two gas fields discovered by oil companies.

The Ministry of Interior gave the 27 NGOs 90 days to conclude operations, according to a list seen by Reuters. Among those being expelled are Action Aid, World Vision, Plan International, Trocaire, Pathfinder International, Danish Refugee Council, George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, Oxfam Novib, and Marie Stopes.

Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Maleeha Lodhi on Thursday said that Pakistan’s support to the Palestinian people remains unwavering “despite the threats that we have received in recent days.”

Addressing at UNGA, Lodhi said that Pakistan co-sponsored this resolution and will vote in favour of this landmark resolution to reject the US decision. “Pakistan stands firmly behind the Palestinian people and their just cause”, she said.

She said that support to the Palestinian cause and defence of Al-Quds has been a pillar of Pakistan’s foreign policy. Our support remains unwavering despite the threats we have received in recent days.

“We find ourselves at one of the history’s turning points. The extraordinary developments of the past few weeks warrant an equally extraordinary response from us,” she said

Pakistan is considering replacing the U.S. dollar with the Chinese yuan for bilateral trade between Pakistan and China, Pakistan's Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said according to Dawn Online and The Economic Times. Interior Minister Iqbal, who has been central to the planning and implementation of China-Pakistan economic ties, was reported discussing the proposal after unveiling a long-term economic development cooperation plan for the two countries, Reuters added.

After Iran and China, now also Pakistan and China. China is Pakistan's closest and most reliable ally where the US has been scapegoating Pakistan for its Afghan debacle. The government of Pakistan is considering a proposal to start using the Chinese yuan in trade with China, according to the Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, as quoted by Pakistan’s English-language daily Dawn. “We are examining the use of yuan instead of the US dollar for trade between the two countries,” the minister told the media after the official launch of the Long Term Plan (LTP) for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Bilateral trade between Pakistan and China was worth $13.8 billion in 2015 to 2016, a decade after the countries signed a free trade agreement. Pakistan will continue to use the rupee domestically, according to Iqbal.

The Indian armed forces are conducting a major exercise along the border with Pakistan, exhibiting their preparedness to respond to any "provocation" by its neighbor. The massive show of military strength comes two days after Pakistan warned of a possible nuclear war.

The exercise is "unique in scope and scale" and being conducted in battle-like conditions, says the Indian Army.

Authorities in Pakistan have asked 21 foreign aid groups to wrap up their activities and prepare to leave the country after they failed to re-register under a regulation introduced two years ago, AP said, citing two senior Pakistani security officials. The international non-government organizations in question were told about the decision this week, according to the officials. Pakistan unveiled tough registration rules in 2015 amid widespread suspicion that employees of aid groups were engaged in spying. The aid groups has not commented on the report.

Yes, we’re doing this again. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has begun to build up military forces in the disputed Doklam Plateau, the site of a 10-week standoff between China and India just a couple of months ago.

With thousands dead in a Saudi air war against Yemen, and potentially millions facing starvation because of the Saudi-led naval blockade against Yemen, the House Foreign Affairs Committee is looking to act: against Iran.

(*the logic escapes the paragraph , so let's read it again , shall we ?)

With thousands dead in a Saudi air war against Yemen, and potentially millions facing starvation because of the Saudi-led naval blockade against Yemen, the House Foreign Affairs Committee is looking to act: against Iran.

(*That's what I thought Saudi Arabia did it / punishment goes to Iran !
STILL; the logic escapes the paragraph )

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has just been ordered to shoot down any foreign drones that violate the country’s airspace including attack drones operated by the United States, Chief Marshal Sohail Aman said on Thursday.

By roping India and Japan into its standoff with China, the U.S. is raising the nuclear stakes in Asia – including, dangerously, between India and Pakistan.

With the world focused on the scary possibility of war on the Korean Peninsula, not many people paid much attention to a series of naval exercises this past July in the Malacca Strait, a 550-mile long passage between Sumatra and Malaysia through which pass over 50,000 ships a year.

With President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un exchanging threats and insults, why would the media bother with something innocuously labeled “Malabar 17”?

They should have.

Malabar 17 brought together the US, Japanese, and Indian navies to practice shutting down a waterway through which 80 percent of China’s energy supplies travel and to war games closing off the Indian Ocean to Chinese submarines. If Korea keeps you up at night, try imagining the outcome of choking off fuel for the world’s second largest economy.

Webmaster's Commentary:

War with China (or Russia, for that matter) right now, would be the most pig-headedly, ham-fistedly stupid thing the US government could do right now.

This, unfortunately, is absolutely no guarantee that the US government won't haul off and do it. Paul Craig Roberts has made this claim, that there are plans in the works to do just that, and he presented this in an article he wrote last Spring:

A lot of countries in the Middle East want the same thing – economic progress, peace for their people.

Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser on Middle East peace, said Sunday that Israel needs to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians before it can form an alliance with the greater Arab world.

Indian Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj underscored her country's willingness to further broaden and deepen relations with Iran.
Swaraj made the remarks in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran on Saturday.

Zarif, for his part, referred to the good and growing ties between the two countries, and said, "In addition to strengthening mutual and regional cooperation, inauguration of Chabahar's Shahid Beheshti port shows the importance of this port in the development of the region and the roads linking the Central Asian states to other world countries via the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean."

During the meeting, the two top diplomats also discussed the latest regional developments.

At least 14 people were killed Friday, and 25 wounded, in the hostel of the Peshawar Agricultural Training Institute in northern Pakistan, when attackers from the Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) faction attacked the site.

Three explosions were reported in the early morning, after which five gunmen, disguised in burqas, snuck into the facility and opened fire on students within. Officials say the casualty toll is likely to rise.

Peshawar police said the death toll included eight students, one guard, and five attackers. Students and police were among the injured. The TTP was quick to claim the attack, and Pakistani officials say they believe the attackers had connections to the Taliban forces in Afghanistan.

Webmaster's Commentary:

What sleazy monsters assassinate... innocent kids, just trying to get an education?!?